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Ravenmoor
Situated just east of the Churlwood's northernmost stretch, along the crooked run of the Lampblack River, Ravenmoor is an isolated settlement that sees few visitors. Named for the flocks of ravens that call the surrounding moors home, the village is small, with less than a dozen buildings serving as the town’s center, its businesses serving a population largely confined to outlying ramshackle farmhouses. Geography The town of Ravenmoor lies just over halfway between Ember Lake and the Storval Plateau in central Varisia. South and east of the town there are overland trails that connect to the nearby communities of Wolf's Ear and Roderic's Cove. Upriver on the Lampblack, the land becomes trackless wilderness up through the Curchain Hills to the Storval Stairs. Economy Even though the town grows somewhat xenophobic at night, during the day, the people are happy to trade with anyone who makes the journey to Ravenmoor. They frequently trade with the nearby Shoanti Hawk Clan, often coming to the erroneous conclusion that all Shoanti must be as welcoming as the Shriikirri-Quah. The area around the town is known for its excellent vinyards, and Ravenmoor grapes and wine can be found as far away as the markets of distant Korvosa. The Lampblack’s dark, sooty floods provide fertile soil for the village’s crops, which include corn, turnips, broad beans, peas, and rye. Locations The Bobbing Cork The profitable inn get its name from a time when, many years ago, the building nearly floated away after the Lamplack River flooded. Physic This small building is the workplace of Alexi Eestok, the town’s aging barber-surgeon. He procures many vital remedies to harsh village life, including haircutting and shaving, but also bloodletting, boil lancing, tooth extraction, and setting broken bones. The benches lined up along the building’s facade attract a congregation of long-toothed elders, who spend their waning days sitting under the covered porch, wagering on simple games of chance. Culture The folk of Ravenmoor at first seem to be simple, industrious folk—dedicated to their unique venerations of the goddess Desna, whose worship apparently forms the backbone of the community. Like any who make their living from the difficult labor of tilling soil, the villagers work hard and celebrate their successes when able. They are comfortable with their customs because it is all they have to sustain them, and their indoctrination toward such beliefs is complete. Local dress is neat and functional, with men wearing plain dun-colored tunics, buttoned vests, wide-brimmed straw hats, and unbleached canvas breeches held up by suspenders. Women dress modestly in simple, single- colored dresses in drab earth tones, with long sleeves, full skirts, and white aprons with little lace or adornment. Years of close contact with the infested swamps have resulted in a strange reliance on parasitic creatures normally considered as pests. Most normal livestock raised in the town’s humid, relatively filthy environment succumb within months to parasites. Pigs do relatively well, and make up the majority of the town’s livestock animals, but both ravens and stirges raised in hutches or cages are a common sight as well. While the ravens might not cause any double-takes, the stirges might. The people of Ravenmoor feed the stirges the blood of captured ravens, pigs, or other animals caught by hunters. The villagers make a point of never feeding domesticated stirges human blood, since “once they get a taste for it, it’s plumb hard to keep them docile.” Even though the creatures have been domesticated and bear colloquial names like Applesauce, Goosespit, and Honeysuckle, the villagers keep these dangerous pets in cages at most times. Cuisine Among the usual fare of whole fresh greens, roasted pig, and fresh-baked breads, the town's more unusual offerings include the following. Smoked Tick Legs: The hard, chitinous legs of giant ticks are smoked first, then boiled. Served steaming hot, villagers use small, two-pronged forks to tear apart the outer shell to get at the soft meat inside, much like boiled crabs served in coastal communities. The flavor is decidedly loamy and gamey. Stirge Blood Sausage: Ravenmoor’s most popular delicacy is the specially prepared blood sacks of stirge. The engorged creatures are plucked fresh from blood-drained oxen and their abdomens pinched and twisted off. These casings are stuffed with spices and rye berries and then boiled; the blood, grains, and spices congeal, forming a briny sausage that is disturbingly delicious. References Category:Varisia/Settlements Category:Varisia